And please don’t forget your foraged leg braces after you’ve had one too many of our hand crafted cocktails.

My husband photographs abandoned houses as a hobby and they are fascinating. Things are just left as if people had walked out minutes before. I became fascinated with the list of items in the kitchen cupboard in this house (Campbellford, Ontario) and it just got silly from there….click on any picture to enlarge. Thanks to Tad Seaborn for sharing his photos.

Well, the above just about says it all. But, Ivy Knight, organizer-Royale has more to say about this lip smacking event where I get to be a judge. A judge of fried chicken… I picture myself with a drumstick gavel and greasy paperwork. Can Monday night come fast enough?

Here is what Ivy has to say about how and why she pulled together this first (annual) fried fiasco.

I have been wanting to do a fried chicken battle ever since watching David Chang go head to head against Questlove on Jimmy Fallon. I just really wanted to fill a room with people eating lots and lots of free fried chicken. Unfortunately I don’t have a budget to buy a bunch of chickens so I got in touch with my old friend Peter Sanagan and asked if he’d be willing to donate the birds. I barely got my request out before he said of course. So then I talked to some of my chef friends, Matty at Parts & Labour, Fan at Happy Child, Teddy at the Drake, the girls who run SNACKS (famous for their food at the Junction Flea) and Brandon at Bar Isabel, we picked a date and I started thinking about judges.

I didn’t want to have chefs come in to compete and be judged by their peers, I wanted the judges to come from outside of the peer group – so I often look to cookbook authors and media. The guys at Munchies were an obvious choice, they suggested Bad Day Magazine and since I know and love you I figured we’d bring you in to add a little class to the panel(Ivy knows how easily I fall for sweet talk–don’t worry, I’ll never bring a lot of class, perhaps just a cufflinks’ worth SR). And of course, Peter is a judge since he’s the reason we’re able to pull this off.

This is the first of what I hope will become a yearly tradition where I give away five hundred pieces of fried chicken to the masses.

So… friends, foes and people who accidentally got to this page and are thinking WHAT? THANK GOD I FOUND IT, don’t wait til next year. Come on down next week!

The Toronto Farmers’ Market Network (www.tfmn.ca) presents a screening of Symphony of the Soil, made by filmmaker, Debra Koons Garcia of ‘The Future of Food’. This recently released documentary has not been widely seen, so this is a unique opportunity. For details on the film visit www.symphonyofthesoil.com.

What: ‘Symphony of the Soil’ – Presented by the Toronto Farmers’ Market Network

When: Wed. May 29th, 7pm

Where: Royal Theatre, 608 College St.

Tickets at the door: $10, kids 12 and under $5

‘Drawing from ancient knowledge and cutting edge science, Symphony of the Soil is an artistic exploration of a miraculous substance, soil. By understanding the elaborate relationships and mutuality between soil, water, the atmosphere, plants and animals, we come to appreciate the complex and dynamic nature of this precious resource. The film examines our human relationship with soil, the use and misuse of soil in agriculture, deforestation and development, and the latest scientific research on soil’s key role in ameliorating the most challenging environmental issues of our time. Filmed on four continents, featuring esteemed scientists and working farmers and ranchers, Symphony of the Soil is an intriguing presentation that highlights the possibilities of healthy soil creating healthy plants creating healthy humans living on a healthy planet.’

Toronto Farmers’ Market Network brings together community-based market organizers to share information, advocate for a strong and healthy local food system, and grow great markets in our city.

Cheese Education Guild is the first cheese school dedicated to cheese appreciation in Canada. It
is patterned after international wine education programs and is a registered Canadian
education institution.

Through the study program you will learn to:
 Taste, compare, discover, and explore the world of cheese.
 Gain understanding and deepened appreciation for cheeses from every category,
country and type of milk.
 Obtain knowledge to speak confidently about cheese with customers, patrons, and
associates.
 Build a network with other experts in cheese.
 Achieve a certificate of achievement for each level you complete from your
participation, research, reading and final testing during the course.

Venue and time for Cheese Appreciation 1
Venue: Culinarium, 705 Mt. Pleasant Rd., Toronto, Ontario (east side of Mt. Pleasant Rd,
south of Eglinton Ave.)
Next class starts: Monday April 29, 2013 and runs every Monday to June 24, 2013. ( no class on Monday May 20, 2013)
Time: 6-9pm.
Cost: $575 +HST (Includes: cheese, course material, testing & certificate.)
CA1 is a total of 24 hours, 3 hours per week for 8 weeks.
Visit us for more information and registrationwww.artisancheesemarketing.comwww.cheeseeducationguild.com

Swoon before you even take a bite. Xococava’s milk chocolate with espresso bean, candied lemon and fleur de sel.

Remember that old Blondie song “Rapture”? Well, I think it was written about the above hand-made chocolates from Xoxocava. (Also, my friend Rina and I won a lip-sync contest in high school singing that song–my hair was big and that was pre-perm.)

Usually when I buy some good chocolate to keep squirreled away in the cupboard I buy a bar of something delicious like the salted dark chocolate from Stubbe (when I can get a west-end friend to pick it up). Somehow buying individual pieces like this for myself never occurred to me until I was knocking these back……like the lady I am.

Beautiful, individual chocolates have been fortuitously dropping into my lap lately. A friend of mine gave us a box of nine caramel-themed chocolates from Soma (Distillery District) which contained morsels such as Fleur de Sel, Caramel Kiss and Pecan Butter Crunch.

Honestly, you cannot ever eat a Smartie again after that kind of delicious. Now that Xococava and Soma have spoiled me and made me a xoco-snob I may head to the Belgian Chocolate Shop on Queen East to check out chocolate making in my hood. (anyone been there?)

The above gorgeous chocolates come delivered in this cute, witty package ($14.75/bag and there are over a dozen pieces)

I think an easy but spectacular finale to a romantic dinner (for those non-bakers) would be a plate of the above chocolates served with a beautiful, creamy cheese.

Neufchatel with red pepper jelly

And if you want to be thematic with your Valentine cheeseboard you’ll grab this heart-shaped Neufchatel from France’s Normandy region. It’s a Camembert style cheese that’s creamy, decadent and perfect for sharing.

If you would like to bring a gift to your cheese lover, I adore my stainless steel cheese markers (you stick them into your cheese to identify them–sometimes I just write “back off” on my favourites). This set from Lee Valley comes with a set of 6 cheese knives and a cool case.

Cheese Tiles-write on, wipe off

I was also sent an email about this cute little guys. Same function as the stainless steel markers but they’re called cheese tiles.

Cheese tiles

They come in a variety of styles such as Fleur-di-Lis, Shell, Vine and more. Retails for $29.95 for a set of 4, they can be purchased online at www.placetile.com

And finally, what you’ve all been waiting for, give the ultimate in S&M themed foodie gifts….

I mean, it’s pretty hilarious right?

I got in touch with Toronto’s Cookbook Store and asked what they would recommend and apparently this 50 Shades of Chicken was a hot stocking stuffer for 2012, but if you didn’t grab it then, now is your chance. (I took this picture from amazon.ca where you can also order it).

And they also recommended these two options……(it’s going to be a long winter right?)

So, I think you’re set for gifts and food for this coming February 14th. (FYI, the xoco cava chocolates are great bites while you wait for toast to brown in the morning, just sayin’)

(You can scroll to the bottom of this post for the BOMB free schedule and skip my yapping or CLICK HERE. They also have child-minding, a kids class and I often set up Felix with the iPad while I work out.)

Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness.” – Earl of Derby

Wow–that Earl was a bit of a downer. But he’s right and it’s New Year’s Resolution time and also let’s face it exercise makes us feel good (I imagine the eye rolls…). But really, when I’m busy and stressed and have the least time to work out is when I could use it the most.

And Bomb Wellness (Danforth and Greenwood) where I’ve been a member for a year is my favourite gym in my gym-member experience (and I have been joining gyms since I was 16–really–I suck at team sports but can regale you with stories of mix tapes and that new step/spin/core workout trend)

There is a real community at BOMB and just like at Cheers (remember that show you oldies?) everybody knows your name. Well, Victoria and Kevin the owners do and they use it just when you think they’re not looking and you’re push ups are not quite a push-up anymore—don’t worry you can take a break holding plank. (Gee thanks).

But that’s what you want in a gym-enthusiasm, motivation and great classes and teachers……

So drop in today they have free classes all weekend–it is their 1 year Anniversary. And then pop by Red Rocket just down the block for a latte and muffin.

TIMETABLEAlthough there is no need to book ahead of time, all classes have limited space, so arrive early! Timetable is subject to change. Fit Kids (3-6yrs) starts at 12:00pm both days.

Last Sunday night a bunch of friends and I popped by Red Fish for a fish fry. You can see Chef David Friedman back there (in the photo) bringing out platters of lightly battered, crispy fish; yellow perch, catfish and spelt all wild, all from Lake Erie. Sides were creamy coleslaw, herb seasoned fries and a great green salad in a tasty vinaigrette (and if you think you can get a well-seasoned vinaigrette just anywhere —you’d think, right?— you’d be wrong).